Rice University Center for Research Computing

The Ken Kennedy Institute, established in 1986, is an interdisciplinary group committed to addressing critical global challenges through foundational research in AI and Computing. The Institute fosters collaborative efforts to drive AI-powered discoveries across diverse scientific disciplines and champions ethical and responsible AI innovation.

At Rice University, the Ken Kennedy Institute comprises over 250 renowned faculty and senior research members spanning multiple departments and schools. The Institute’s external partnerships in the computational sciences promote research and innovation across academia, industry, and the community, with notable collaborations with the Texas Medical Center, the city of Houston, several government agencies, foundations, industry, and academic institutions.

The Ken Kennedy Institute is at the heart of AI and Computing scientific discourse and collaboration at Rice University, organizing forums, faculty-led workshops, distinguished lectures, a global scholar program, member events, and two flagship annual conferences: the AI in Health Conference and the Energy High Performance Computing (HPC) Conference. The Institute also supports research excellence and education across Rice University through its recruiting and exceptional performance graduate student fellowships. With a focus on AI, machine learning, data science, high performance computing, and an eye toward emerging computational domains, the Ken Kennedy Institute paves a clear and strategic pathway to real-world impact, committed to ethical responsibility, and upholding values of fairness, transparency, and inclusivity.